Rockers turn to writing

Bookstores are all set to rock. With iconic musicians, including Eric Clapton, Ron Wood, Tom Petty and Slash, getting ready to tell all, it's going to be an unprecedented year for rocker memoirs, says Carol Memmott in USA Today. The last critical success was three years ago when Bob Dylan's Chronicles: Vol. 1 sold 767,000 copies and was nominated for a National Book Critics Circle award.No word yet on when Vol. 2 will be ready or whether upcoming memoirs can sell as well. "The thing that made Dylan's book so successful is that he has always been an enigma," says Spin's Kyle Anderson. "This was the first time that anyone heard a lot of his stories or insights."
As for content, "I don't think they have to be lurid to succeed," says Rolling Stone contributing editor Anthony DeCurtis, "but they do have to be honest. That will be the make-or-break element of these books." Ready for their solos:
l Save Me From Myself: How I Found God, Quit Korn, Kicked Drugs, and Lived to Tell My Story by Brian Welch ( July 3). Lead guitarist and crystal meth addict quit the band in 2005 to embrace Jesus and a drug-free lifestyle. First printing not announced.
l Ronnie Wood: The Autobiography (Oct 2). The Rolling Stone talks about his career and hanging out with Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and Charlie Watts. Title and publication date may change. First printing: 200,000.
l Clapton: The Autobiography by Eric Clapton (Oct 9). Legendary guitarist writes about his childhood, ascent in the music world, addictions, women. First printing: 350,000.
l SLASH by Slash with Anthony Bozza (Oct 16). Guns n' Roses guitarist writes of the role that being bi-racial played in his life, his mother's relationship with David Bowie and being on the road with Axl Rose. First printing: 150,000.
l Lyrics by Sting (Oct 23). Collection of lyrics and commentary spans his career. His 2003 memoir Broken Music was a best seller. First printing: 150,000.
l Runnin' Down a Dream, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers by Tom Petty (Nov 1). Petty's memoir coincides with a documentary by Peter Bogdanovich and a four-disc DVD set. First printing: 75,000.
l The memoir that could outsell all of them isn't written by a rocker. Pattie Boyd, model and former wife of George Harrison and Eric Clapton, will be out with Wonderful Tonight on August 21. Boyd inspired Harrison's 'Something' and Clapton's 'Layla'. "She is Layla," says DeCurtis, "and she was at the center of one of the major romantic triangles in the history of rock 'n' roll. Absolutely she'll have an audience."